Children are the centre. Safety comes before growth.
These are requirements, not accomplished facts about any individual — the conditions every funded program must meet before a child is on the floor.
Before an instructor is placed
- A background check.
- Written acknowledgment of applicable mandated-reporter obligations.
- Agreement to the World Dance Foundation child-protection policy.
An expression of interest from an instructor is exactly that. It collects an adult's details and nothing about any child, and it does not place anyone with children. Placement follows the steps above, in that order.
Images and video
No child appears in a photograph or video without written parent or guardian consent, and consent can be withdrawn at any time. Until the program has real photographs with documented consent, the imagery on this site is illustrative and composed so that no child's face appears.
Host studios
Host studios carry their own liability coverage and agree to the child-protection policy for staff present during program hours.
Reporting
Every funded program reports enrolment, attendance and term completion. Aggregate outcomes are published annually. An identifiable child is never published without consent.
A note on language
We describe children the way their communities ask to be described. Many autistic people prefer identity-first language ("autistic child"); many other communities prefer person-first ("child with Down syndrome"). We follow each community's stated preference rather than imposing one convention.